ENGLAND
S Korea’s Yun signs for QPR
South Korea international defender Yun Suk-young has signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Queens Park Rangers, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. The 22-year-old has joined the struggling west Londoners, who are four points adrift at the bottom of the table, from South Korean side Chunnam Dragons for an undisclosed fee. Yun was part of the South Korea side that won bronze at the London Olympics last year and he made his full international debut in a World Cup qualifier in October last year. QPR said on their Web site that Yun had been granted a work permit and would be eligible to play once he had obtained a visa.
UNITED STATES
Cornelius frustrates Mexico
Teenager Andrea Cornelius slotted a late penalty for Denmark to leave Mexico frustrated with a 1-1 draw from their friendly in Glendale, Arizona, on Wednesday. Cornelius, who scored a hat-trick in Denmark’s 4-0 win over Canada on Saturday, calmly took the spot-kick after being fouled by Jorge Torres Nilo in the 83rd minute at University of Phoenix Stadium. The 19-year-old’s goal canceled out Marco Fabian’s 68th-minute penalty following a scoreless first half in Mexico’s final warm-up before their World Cup qualifier against Jamaica on Wednesday next week. Javier Acquino drew the foul that set up Fabian’s spot-kick, but there was little else to cheer for the partisan crowd, with goalkeeper Jesper Hansen making five saves to help Denmark secure the tie.
FRANCE
Marseille set up PSG clash
Olympique de Marseille set up a Coupe de France round-of-16 clash with archrivals Paris Saint-Germain when a controversial goal by new signing Modou Sougou gave them a 2-1 win at third-tier Rouen on Wednesday. Rouen goalkeeper Theo Defourny mishandled Sogou’s long-range strike in the 59th minute, but appeared to secure the ball before it crossed the line. However, referee Said Ennjimi awarded the goal. Senegalese striker Sogou joined Marseille last month from CFR Cluj. Marseille had gone ahead three minutes before the break thanks to Mathieu Valbuena’s low shot. Rouen reduced the arrears in the 67th minute when Regis Dugimont beat Steve Mandanda from close range. The game, scheduled for last week, was postponed after a non-toxic gas leak in the Rouen area prompted the French soccer federation to change its plans. The round-of-16 games will be played on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27.
JAPAN
United’s Kagawa recalled
Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa was recalled to the Japan squad for next Wednesday’s home friendly against Latvia after returning to form and fitness. Kagawa missed Japan’s previous match, their narrow 2-1 World Cup qualifying win away to Oman in November last year, because of a knee problem picked up while playing for United. He returned to action at the end of December and has shown improved form as United have pushed seven points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. “In the recent games that I watched Kagawa in the Premier League, I get the impression he is really starting to fit in,” Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said. Zaccheroni’s 23-man squad for the friendly in Kobe, Kagawa’s hometown, also includes VVV-Venlo striker Yuki Ostu for the first time. Zaccheroni’s side play another friendly against Canada in Doha next month, before they take on Jordan in World Cup qualifying as they close in on a berth in Brazil.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but